Collector's Special! Rare Premier Knife Is A Hybrid Wenger Victorinox Knife

The Wenger Premier is a very, very interesting model. It has Wenger branding, but was built by Victorinox using a Victorinox 84mm frame and using Victorinox tools. This model is basically a Victorinox Bantam with a Wenger logo printed on the scales, and a Wenger stamp on the obverse tang of the blade.

The unique heritage of this model makes it very interesting to collectors. This model was part of a Wenger'Swiss Gear' packing/promotion set, that combined the knife with a wallet, that was available in 2009. In the US this special combination was found in Target and Sears stores. It was also available in a blister package - which was one of the first sources for a model name for the knife.

It was also available in Germany. Note the printing error claiming that there were cuff links included. That was supposed to say Wenger Premier Swiss Army Knife.

This model is exactly the same as the Victorinox Bantam with the following exceptions: It has the regular Wenger logo imprinted on the scales; the regular Wenger tang stamp is stamped on the blade; Note, the tang stamp on the other side of the blade is the Victorinox'OFFICIER SUISSE' tang stamp! How this unusual situation came about is open to some discussion. One theory is that Wenger announced the promotional package - But then did not have the capacity to produce the knife in the production plant.

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